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| NewsRadio
990AM, Richmond |
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History
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The
990AM frequency has a long, prominent tradition in Richmond.
Signed on for the first time in 1951, under the call letters
WANT, 990AM was one of the top African-American music stations
in the United States through the 1950s and 1960s and was one
of the top revenue-producing medium market stations in the country
well into the early 1980s. During its three decades of prominence,
Richmond's WANT was the developing ground for numerous individuals
who have gone on to great success in the radio industry, including
Ben Miles, Kirby Carmichael and Mel Edwards. The popularity
of WANT declined with the emergence of competition from FM radio
in the early 1980s and by the early 1990s the station was off
the air and virtually abandoned. |
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New
Ownership |
In
1994, Mike Mazursky, a veteran radio manager who grew up in
the radio business and Charles Milkis, a communications attorney
who grew up in the television business, created the vision of
returning 990AM to the air as a new radio station. Mazursky
and Milkis endured several years of negotiations and legal hurdles
to acquire the 990AM license and transmitter site, and then
rebuilt the station. On January 31, 1997, just eight days before
the FCC would have canceled the license to operate 990AM in
Richmond under a congressional mandate to eliminate any stations
off the air for over 12 months, Mazursky and Milkis's 4M Communications
returned 990AM to the Richmond airwaves with a news radio format
under new call letters, WVNZ. |
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Power
Increase |
Under
local ownership led by Mazursky and Milkis, 4M Communications
is committed to restoring the prominence of the 990AM frequency
in Richmond. In the 48 years since 990AM first began entertaining
and informing Richmonders, the Richmond metropolitan area has
grown substantially. Originally authorized by the FCC to operate
with 1,000 watts power, Mazursky and Milkis are working towards
a significant increase of 990AM's power and coverage area. |
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NewsRadio
1340AM,
Tri-Cities |
In
addition to the power increase, Mazursky and Milkis are actively
pursuing other ways to expand the reach of NewsRadio 990AM's
programming to listeners in the Richmond metropolitan area.
Mazursky and Milkis acquired WHAP, 1340AM in Hopewell, Virginia,
and simulcast NewsRadio 990AM's programming on 1340AM, thus
expanding WVNZ's reach to the Tri-Cities of Colonial Heights,
Hopewell and Petersburg. Like 990AM in Richmond, 1340AM has
a long history in serving the Tri-Cities for more than 50 years.
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Internet
Broadcasting |
Mazursky
and Milkis are aggressively exploring ways to use the Internet.
Since December 1998 NewsRadio 990AM's programming has been simulcast
on the Internet, making it the first radio station in Richmond
to be simulcast on the Internet. Now, listeners can take our
programming from their homes into their cars and then into their
offices. |
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